 Re: Quite\rather
Sort of on topic:
I observed an EFL class yesterday. The teacher informed the students that "quite" was an intensifier, whereas "rather" and "fairly" were downtoners.
She insisted that there were major differences between the following phrases:
It's quite hot.
and
It's rather hot.
It's fairly hot.
Personally, I don't see much difference. Neither did one of her students, who suggested that "quite" could function equally well as a downtoner (whatever that is -- I can't find the term in any dictionary).
What do you think? |